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Anywhere but Here

Critics Consensus

The strong chemistry between Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman as a mother and daughter trying to make a fresh start in L.A. helps to elevate Anywhere But Here above its occasional forays into melodrama.

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Audience Score

Anywhere but Here Ratings & Reviews Explanation

Anywhere but Here
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Movie Info

Mona Simpson's acclaimed novel comes to the screen in an adaptation directed by Wayne Wang. Tired of her life in a pleasant but unremarkable Midwestern city, where everyone knows everyone else's business, Adele August (Susan Sarandon) packs up her belongings to move to the bright lights of Beverly Hills. But her teenage daughter Ann (Natalie Portman) isn't as excited about the move; Ann has a sense of practicality that her mother lacks, and their shift in locale puts a serious strain on their relationship, as Ann makes plans to move away for college. The supporting cast includes Shawn Hatosy, Hart Bochner, and Bonnie Bedelia.

Critic Reviews for Anywhere but Here

As a depiction of a loving-turbulent relationship between a single mom (Susan Sarandon) and her rebellious teenage daughter (Natalie Portman), Wang's meller is nicely crafted but old-fashioned like Hollywood's weepies of yesteryear.

Audience Reviews for Anywhere but Here

Adele: Providence, Rhode Island? Couldn't you have gotten any farther away from me?
"A story of a mother who knows best... and a daughter who knows better."
I like Susan Surandon and love Natalie Portman, yet I strongly dislike Anywhere But Here. It's melodrama for 2 hours and it just gets annoying. The story is that of a mother, daughter relationship. They leave Bay City, Wisconsin for Beverly Hill, California; much to chagrin of Ann(Natalie Portman). Ann is annoyed by her mother(I don't blame her), but still loves her. Adele(Susan Surandon) really annoyed me. I hated her character a lot more then I hated the movie.This movie definitely has a target audience. That target audience is any female who will cry at the slightest dramatic moment as long as it has sad music.
I guess I can come up with a few good things about this movie. Obviously it has a good cast. It also has Danny Elfman doing the score and Roger Deakins doing the cinematography. That's about the extent of what I can say I enjoyed about it. The story is nothing new. It's pretty much just a study of a mother-daughter relationship and not a very good one at that. It probably would have helped slightly if I was a mother or a daughter.

I caught this movie I think about halfway in on HBO so i'm not sure how it started but it ended great. Natalie Portman plays Anne who has been moved from a small town to California because her mother played by Susan Sarandon who has hopes of being famous. She pushes her daughter to try out for acting roles but Anne doesn't wanna be an actress. Adele and Anne moved around alot because Adele could never find comfort in any location. This is a classic movie of the single mom trying to raise a daughter who is actually more grown up than her mother.